Punjab government surviving on Central grants only: Manish Tewari

LUDHIANA: Slamming the SAD-BJP government for questioning the contribution of Union Ministers from Punjab in the state's development, Union Minister Manish Tewari today said the Parkash Singh Badal led-government was surviving only on Central grants.


"Leave aside special projects, this government is surviving only with the central grants as it has virtually gone broke and bankrupt," the Information and Broadcasting Minister said in a statement.

Badal had yesterday asked Union Ministers from the state to list their achievements for bringing any project to Punjab.

Tewari, who represents Ludhiana parliamentary constituency, asked the state government to spell out "the unparallelled development under SAD-BJP government", which the chief minister claims to have been carried out in Punjab.

Retorting to Badal's scathing attack on UPA where he blamed the Central government for current financial condition, Tewari said "the state government need not worry about that as there are competent and capable people taking care."

"We are always debating and discussing it in parliament and if you have courage and conviction better hold a discussion in the assembly on the state of economy in Punjab," the Union Minister said.

He asked the state government to explain what happened to its promise of surplus power and unemployment allowance.

"What happened to the promise of free laptops and the bicycles?" he asked, adding that the state government did not pay the suppliers for the bicycles it had distributed.

It was with the cent per cent central assistance that the Ludhiana City Bus Service was started under Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, Tewari said.